Fighting 4th of July fires

Medford, Ore -- Combine already dry conditions with a little wind and the 4th of July holiday and you've got a dangerous recipe for firefighters and you have a busy weekend for firefighters

Medford Fire Captain Randy Green's 4th of July holiday started early with a call to a grass fire off Crater Lake Highway near Biddle Road.

The quarter acre fire started in a well known transient camp but spread quickly before crews put it out.

"We could see the column, it was going pretty good, pretty good for this time in the morning for a fire to take off like this," said Green.

Fortunately Medford Fire is fully staffed this weekend, even bringing in extra crews and an additional truck.

"We've got no other training, nothing else planned, we're here to help fight fire and hopefully it will be a slow day but so far that hasn't been the case," said Green. Firefighters say this fire was likely preventable and remind us it's our responsibility to prevent this from happening.

"The problem with the fourth of July isn't the conditions so much as the starts and people start a lot of fires," said Ken Goodson.

"I advise people today just to be totally safe, these fires just take off really fast," said Green.

Advice fire crews hope people take to heart for a happy, safe 4th of July.

Firefighters told NBC5 this is at least the second fire they've responded to at the transient camp.

The cause of that fire is still under investigation but Medford fire does believe it was human caused.

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